Author

Author ORCID Identifier

Defense Date

Document Type

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Public Policy & Administration

First Advisor

Dr. Meghan Gough

Second Advisor

Dr. Jill Gordon

Third Advisor

Dr. Robert Kelley

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Ivan Suen

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing restaurant Owner-Managers’ decisions to adopt sustainability innovations in restaurants. A cross-sectional survey research design is used for this study, which entails distributing a survey to restaurants in the City of Richmond, Virginia, to gain an understanding of the factors influencing sustainability innovation adoption. Drawing from both the innovation adoption theory and the theory of planned behavior, the researcher contributes a baseline of the restaurants’ sustainability and the Owner-Managers’ intrinsic motivations. By integrating innovation adoption theory’s perceived innovation characteristics and measuring restaurants’ past sustainability behavior, this study increases the overall explanatory power of the theory of planned behavior. The findings demonstrate the need for new policy that effectively increases the rate of sustainability innovation adoption throughout Richmond’s restaurant industry. This study’s baseline contribution enables policymakers to move from planning to the implementation of the initiatives needed to achieve the economic development goal and first objective detailed in the City of Richmond’s sustainability plan, RVAgreen: A Roadmap to Sustainability (2011).